Rhode Island’s official name is the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. Rhode Island is the smallest state in the United States in terms of area, though only the 8th least populous. It was the first of the Thirteen Colonies to declare independence from Great Britain and, ironically, the last of the Thirteen Colonies to ratify the United States Constitution and enter the Union.
Rhode Island has a long history in industry and manufacturing, but since the Great Depression the state economy has rotated primarily around the service and tourism industries although manufacturing still has a significant presence in the state. As a former colonial state Rhode Island has a great degree of historic buildings and sites that serve is prime tourist attractions alongside the state’s waterfront vistas.
Rhode Island’s population is concentrated heavily in the eastern part of the state around Narragansett Bay primarily around the Providence metro. Newport on the southern coastal inlets and Woonsocket in the north are also large population centers.